Daily Current Affairs : 18th April

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Mars base simulator
2. Brainex
3. Face of Disaster 2019 Report
4. Facts about Notre-dame Cathedral
5. Zinc deficiency & Food Fortification
6. Facts for Prelims – Western disturbance

1 . Mars base simulator

Context : Mars base simulator was opened in China’s Gobi desert

About Mars Base 1

• Mars Base 1 is a Mars simulator it is opened with the aim of exposing teens and tourists to what life could be on Mars.
• The white-coloured base has a silver dome and nine modules, including living quarters, a control room, a greenhouse and an airlock.
• The company behind the project, C-Space, plans to open the base — currently an educational facility — to tourists in the next year, complete with a themed hotel and restaurant to attract space geeks.
  
• The base was constructed with help from the Astronauts Centre of China and the China Intercontinental Communication Centre, a state television production organisation.
  
• It follows a similar Mars “village” that opened last month in the Qaidam Basin of neighbouring Qinghai — a hot and dry region which is the highest desert in the world, considered the best replica of Mars’ surface conditions.
  

2 . Brainex

Context : In a study that raises questions about the line between life and death, researchers have restored some cellular activity to brains removed from slaughtered pigs.

Background

• Until now, it has been assumed that the brain declines quickly when its blood supply is cut off. Cells deteriorate, and the connections between neurons crumble. Scientists have believed those changes are irreversible unless blood is quickly restored.

About the Research

• Researchers at Yale University acquired the heads of 32 pigs killed for their meat. The scientists sawed into the skulls and removed the brains. By the time the experiment started, the brains had been without blood and at room temperature for four hours.
• The team has developed a system called BrainEx that pumps an experimental solution into the intact brain. The scientists hope the technology will help point the way to new treatments for strokes, traumatic brain injuries and diseases like Alzheimer’s.
• The scientists pumped the solution into the pigs’ brains for six hours. It brought oxygen to the tissue and contained chemicals that allowed the scientists to track its flow with ultrasound.
• The solution also contained chemicals intended to block nerve signals.
• In addition to the brains that got the BrainEx solution, the scientists also examined brains that did not receive infusions and those receiving infusions of a dummy substance. Brains in both groups showed no signs of activity, and their cells deteriorated.
• Results of the research – blood vessels in the pigs’ brains began functioning, flowing with a blood substitute, and certain brain cells regained metabolic activity, even responding to drugs. When the researchers tested slices of treated brain tissue, they discovered electrical activity in some neurons

Importance

• Research could one day be used to help treat victims of heart attacks and strokes and unravel the mysteries of brain trauma.

3 . Face of Disaster 2019 Report

Context : While the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted a “normal” monsoon this year, a new report on disasters warns that the “average” rainfall figures hide extremes of floods and droughts across the country.

About the Report

• The Face of Disasters 2019’, a report released by the Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS)
• According to the Other disasters are hidden because of slow-onset or they may be affecting ignored populations or occurring at the same time as more high profile disasters

About SEEDS

• Founded in 1994, SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) had one ultimate goal: protecting the lives and livelihoods of people exposed to disasters.
• SEEDS team consist of young professionals from various development- related fields. It is governed and advised by a board of eminent academicians and practitioners from international organisations.
• Over the years, this team of committed individuals, has reached out to families affected by earthquakes, floods and cyclones; restored schools and homes; and has invariably put its faith in education to build long term resilience of the communities.

4 . Facts about Notre dame Cathedral

Context : Notre-dame cathedral caught fire, causing the collapse of the spire and the oak roof

About the Cathedral

• Notre-Dame is a medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris France
• Cathedral was originally constructed in the 13th century, it underwent several modifications in the ensuing centuries
• The cathedral is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture
• It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage site as a part of Paris Bank of Siene

5 . Zinc deficiency

Context : Rising carbon dioxide levels can accelerate zinc deficiency in crops and thus in human consumption, cautions a new study titled ‘Inadequate zinc intake in India: past, present and future’ by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

About the Report

• Increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) lower the content of zinc and other nutrients in important food crops
• The study states that inadequate zinc intake has been rising in India for decades, causing tens of millions of people to become newly deficient in it. The study added that the highest rate of inadequate zinc intake was concentrated mainly in the southern and northeastern States with rice-dominated diets: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya.
• Rice is poor in zinc, causing higher rates of zinc inadequacy in diets that rely heavily upon it. Overall urban populations, and wealthier urban groups in particular, showed higher rates of inadequate intake as well, due to a higher proportion of nutrient-poor fats and sugars in the diet,
• Rising carbon dioxide levels in the coming decades could accelerate this trend. National grain fortification programmes, increased dietary diversity, bio-fortified crops, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions could all make a difference to slow or reverse the course
  

Importance of Zinc intake

• Inadequate zinc intake can have serious health consequences, particularly for young children, who are more susceptible to contracting malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia, when suffering from zinc deficiency. The presence of zinc plays a critical role in human immune systems.

What is Food Fortification Programme

• Fortification is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Iodine, Zinc, Vitamins A & D to staple foods such as rice, wheat, oil, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content.
• These nutrients may or may not have been originally present in the food before processing or may have been lost during processing

6 . Facts for Prelims

Western Disturbance

• A western disturbance is a rain-bearing wind system that originates beyond Afghanistan and Iran, picking up moisture from as far as the Mediterranean Sea, and even the Atlantic Ocean.
• The winds travel in the form of storms from the northwestern direction and cause frequent rainfall over Pakistan, North and Northwestern India, Uttarakhand, and some parts of the Gangetic plains. Sometimes the disturbances reach even the Northeast of India.
• The western disturbances are the primary reason for rainfall during the non-monsoon months in Northern and Eastern India. These wind systems sometimes build up four or five times a month, but not all of these necessarily result in rain